There is no gain without loss... no victory without sacrifice. My reworking of Wicked the Musical, Act 2, starting from Thank Goodness. Warning: will be much darker than the original musical. Pairings: Fiyeraba

A/N: Hello,
everyone! Welcome to Wicked Fic #10! LOL I know, I know, I'm
crazy! But this one I actually have planned out from beginning to
end (I really do – the outline's, like, five freaking pages
long!), so maybe I'll have a better chance of finishing it!

Anyways, as the
summary stated, this is my reworking of Wicked the Musical, Act 2,
and explores some different options of what might have happened. And
I must give credit where credit is due:

This story was
inspired loosely by "The Witches of Oz" by TheWickedWitchOfOz.

The scenario
which begins at the end of this chapter and continues into the next
was suggested to my mind by "Contrapasso" by
elphabathedelirious32.

If either of you
guys ever at any point feel like I am plagiarizing your work, please
let me know, and I will fix the problem immediately!

And a HUGE, GIGANTIC
thankees goes out to my pal Lauren, aka kaliawai512!!! Without her,
this fic would not be here! The fantastic plot summary I have now is
due entirely to a long, involved IM chat that I had with her.
Talking through the details with her helped me figure out how to tie
all the important elements of the musical back in – you wouldn't
BELIEVE how much of the essential Wicked details I had been planning
to leave out, or at least forget about until I got to them! So all
you die-hard fans of Wicked the Musical out there, you can thank
Lauren for helping me put in all the stuff we love!

And yes, all the
song lyrics and dialogue in this chapter, at least until Fiyero runs
off and leaves Glinda standing at the platform, comes directly from
the script of Wicked.

All righty, then,
enough of this incredibly-too-long A/N! Go on and READ!

Disclaimer: I don't
own the Wicked. (That's not an original line, I saw it on a fic of
someone else's once, and I really liked it, so I borrowed it. I
don't remember who wrote the fic I saw it on, but if you're
reading this, sorry for stealing, and don't kill me, pweeze! LOL
Jeesh, even my DISCLAIMERS need disclaimers! How sad is that?)

xXxXx

Fiyero Tiggular
couldn't for the life of him figure out why everyone was so damn
happy. Why, they actually looked like there was something to
celebrate, some reason to rejoicify. Even his longtime girlfriend
Glinda the Good, properly named Glinda Upland, gave every appearance
that she was genuinely enjoying herself up here on the platform,
waving to all the adoring Ozians who looked to her for comfort and
guidance. Only Fiyero knew otherwise. He was the only one who was
ever allowed to peer beneath the bubbly blonde's mask of perfect
contentment to see all the pain that she really carried inside.
Fiyero knew the mask well, for it was the same one he donned every
day… the same one he had donned every day since she left.

She. Her.
Elphaba. Elphie. The Wicked Witch of the West. Somehow, none of
the names seemed to really be an exact fit for the enigma that was
Elphaba Thropp. Enigma. He nearly laughed to himself as he
thought the word. Before meeting her, he wouldn't have even known
what a word like 'enigma' meant, let alone how to use it
properly. But even in the short time he'd known her, Elphaba had
changed him forever. She had made him want to be different, want to
be… better. She had made him want to be something more than the
rich, playboy party prince that, on the surface, at least, had been
all he was. Somehow she had seen through his façade, through
all the layers he'd put up to keep life as far away as possible,
and she had blasted them to pieces. All of that in one moment of her
hand desperately gripping his, warm, surprisingly soft… the
briefest touch of her fingertips across his cheek, just there, so
bold and yet achingly tentative… a few agonizing but all-too-brief
instants when his sapphire blue eyes had been arrested completely by
hers, a brown so dark they could almost be called black. The dappled
sunlight pattern of the forest had been reflected in those piercing
dark eyes, and for a clock-tick or two he could have sworn that he
was looking at the night sky, infinite and sparkling with
possibility.

He had noticed Elphaba
at the Oz Dust Ballroom before this, of course. That was the first
sight he ever had of her, and who could ever forget it – the
emerald green skin, the drab, simple frock, and that hat! It was
like nothing he'd ever seen before and nothing he hoped to see
again, but somehow it suited her exactly. Yes, he had noticed her at
the party, and had occasionally thought about her afterwards. Just
little things – I wonder if Elphaba likes this weather, or I
wonder what Elphaba's favorite color is, or I wonder if
Elphaba had trouble with this homework. But it wasn't until
the day he had helped her rescue that Lion cub from History class
that she had taken over his thoughts completely. After those few
minutes spent alone with her, all he could think of was the feel of
her skin against his as she took his hand, the look in her dark eyes
– amazingly deep, soulful eyes – as her fingers moved hesitantly,
tenderly, to wipe a smudge of blood from his cheek. From that day
on, he had known that Elphaba was something very special.

That day was also the
first and only time he'd ever seen her display her magical
abilities, although Glinda had told him later how in the Emerald City
the green girl had enchanted an ordinary broom to fly and escaped
from under the noses of the Wizard's guards, defying anyone to stop
her. He had only seen her once more after the Lion cub – at the
train station, to see her and Glinda off on their trip to the Emerald
City. The trip from which Elphaba had never returned. Three times
he had seen her in all; three short encounters that had probably
lasted a grand total of less than five minutes; three moments in time
that had left their mark on him forever.

After she left, he and
Glinda had had to carry on as best they could at Shiz without her.
They missed her witty, sarcastic comments, her often-infuriating and
always astounding habit of answering every question correctly in
class, her rare smiles and, rarer still, her laughter. She always
sounded so surprised when she laughed, as though she wasn't
expecting such a sound to come out of her own mouth. And gradually
they grew accustomed to life without her, or at least pretended to
themselves and to each other that they did. It was mainly thanks to
Elphaba that Fiyero and Glinda had stayed a couple as long as they
had – no matter how much or how badly they argued, they never even
considered abandoning each other, because they felt that they were
the only two in the world now who were keeping the knowledge of their
vanished friend's true nature alive. Even her sister Nessa had
begun to believe, without much coaxing, that Elphaba had turned
wicked. A Wicked Witch.

Fiyero hated to hear
them call her that. She was not wicked; she had merely threatened to
expose the Wizard of Oz for the complete charlatan that he was and
ruin his plans for the degradation of all of Oz's Animals. It was
for that that she was being punished, not for any wicked
aspect of her nature. He personally believed that out of everyone he
had ever met, Elphaba alone had no capacity for wickedness. She was
too honest, too real. As for a Witch… well, it was certainly no
fault of hers that she had been born with these strange powers that
she possessed. And if being able to control them, instead of having
them flare up without warning and cause unnecessary damage, made her
a Witch, well, then, by Oz, he was glad she was one!

After graduation last
year, he and Glinda had both been surprised when the Wizard and Madam
Morrible offered the Gillikinese girl the position that was to have
been Elphaba's. And Fiyero had been even more surprised when
Glinda accepted it, apparently without question. She explained to
him privately that she was taking the job because she wanted to make
Elphie proud of her. With that job, the blonde girl said, she knew
she could change things, make them better. And she had. All of Oz
was now devoted beyond question to Glinda the Good. For his part,
Fiyero had applied for a position in the Wizard's guards so that he
could be near Glinda – and also maybe, just maybe, because deep
down, he wanted to make a difference, too. He made friends quickly –
all the other young guards liked him because he was a prince, but he
didn't flaunt it or expect any special treatment. But even with
all his connections, he had risen through the ranks even quicker than
had been expected of him. Soon he was Captain of the Guard, and like
Glinda, he intended to do everything in the power that his new
position offered to help thwart the Wizard's death grip on Oz.

The first time he put
on his new captain's uniform, he could just picture Elphaba sitting
there, watching him with wry amusement. So, you're one of them
now, are you? she seemed to be asking. He was quick to assure
her that he wasn't, but lately he wasn't even sure if he believed
his promises to her himself…

Suddenly Glinda
discreetly nudged him, and he realized that Madam Morrible was
speaking to him now. "…been at the forefront of the hunt for the
Wicked Witch, haven't you?"

"Er… yes," he
replied, trying not to show that he had been lost in his own thoughts
(who would ever have thought him capable of that!). Then,
seeing an opportunity to interject a good word for Elphaba, he
stepped closer to the microphone on the podium and continued, "But
I don't like to think of her as a wicked witch."

"Frustrating," he
answered honestly. But I became captain of the guard to find her,
and I will keep searching!" He let them all think that the fervor
in his voice was exactly the opposite of what he really felt for her.

But Morrible suddenly
cut him off with a false, bubbly laugh. "No, no – being
engaged!"

"Congratulotions!"
shouted the entire assembled crowd.

Stunned, he turned to
the petite girl beside him, who was waiting eagerly for his reaction.
"Glinda… this is an engagement party?"

She nodded, delighted
at having pulled off her little trick. "Surprised?" she asked
with a smile.

"Yes!" he had to
admit, still trying to comprehend exactly what was going on. He
didn't remember ever officially asking her to marry him.

But, Glinda being
Glinda, the less-than-pleased tone of his voice was lost on her.
"Good! We hoped you'd be – the Wizard and I!" And as she
continued babbling to the crowd about how happy they both were, he
could only stand there beside her, smiling slightly and nodding in
stupefied amazement.

Finally Morrible broke
in. "Oh, and Glinda, dear, we are happy for you! As Press
Secretary, I have striven to ensure that all of Oz knows the story of
your braverism. How vividly I remember…" She directed her next
comments to the audience as well as Glinda. "…the day you were
first summoned to an audience with Oz, and although he would not tell
you why initially, when you bowed before his throne, he decreed you'd
hence be known as Glinda the Good, officially!"

Fiyero leaned over to
his girlfriend – well, fiancée now – still smiling, and
whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "That's not how you
described it to me."

"Oh, no, not
exactly," she hissed back, managing to maintain her toothy grin,
"but we'll talk about that later."

He did not have enough
time to respond before Morrible continued, "Then with a jealous
squeal, the wicked witch burst from concealment, where she had been
lurking… surreptitially!"

There were gasps from
among the crowd. Then a woman somewhere spoke up. "I hear she has
an extra eye that always remains awake!

From another direction,
a man added, "I hear that she can shed her skin as easily as a
snake!"

"I hear some rebel
animals are giving her food and shelter," contributed a second
woman.

All eyes flew to the
bridge up above them as another man stated, "I hear her soul is so
unclean, pure water can melt her!"

This last rumor caused
quite a stir among the onlookers, and Fiyero turned once again to
Glinda, this time not bothering to even try to hide his disgust. "Do
you hear that? Water will melt her? People are so
empty-headed, they'll believe anything!" And with that, he
stormed off down the back stairs of the platform, not caring how
ridiculous the criticism sounded coming from him of all people. He
stopped short behind a curtain hanging a few feet away and waited for
his fiancée to join him. Sure enough, as he had known would
happen, it was only a matter of a clock-tick before a pair of high
heels clacked closer and closer and Glinda appeared before him,
wearing an expression that clearly warned, You had better have a
good reason for interrupting our party.

"Fiyero, what in Oz's
name has gotten into you?" she demanded, sounding annoyed.

He shook his head. "I
can't just stand here grinning pretending to go along with all of
this!"

Glinda gave a heavy
sigh, and suddenly she was no longer the glittering blonde princess
adored by all of Oz. Her outward shell of perfection fell away to
reveal a scared young girl who was hurting just as much as he was.
"Do you think I like to hear them say those awful things
about her?" she wondered, not giving him time to answer before
asserting, "I hate it!"

"Then what are we
doing here? Let's go, let's get out of here!" Fiyero took her by
the hand and started to lead her away. Where they'd go, he had no
idea, but anywhere had to be better than this.

But Glinda dug in her
heels. "I can't leave now. Not when people are looking to me to
raise their spirits."

Glinda stood her
ground, but now she was looking a bit uncertain. "Maybe I can't.
Is that so wrong? I mean, who could?" She looked up at
him, obviously hoping he would tell her that he understood and that
it was all right that she couldn't seem to give up the life of
sparkle and glamour.

But he was through
pretending to accept the sham of a life they were living. Right
after Elphaba disappeared, Glinda had changed, too. She'd become
more thoughtful, more withdrawn, more considerate of others, and
quite honestly he had thought the change suited her. But now he saw
that change being reversed. She was once again becoming the popular
beauty queen she'd been in their days at Shiz. "You know who
could," he reminded her rather angrily. "And who has."

"Fiyero, I miss her
too, but we can't just stop living," admonished Glinda, placing her
hands on his shoulders. "No one has searched harder for her than
you. But don't you see? She doesn't want to be found." Her voice
grew quiet, faintly tearful. "We have to face it."

Fiyero sighed heavily
and nodded, seeing the sense in her words. "You're right. I'm
sorry, you're right." He forced a smile. "And if it's going to
make you happy, of course I'll marry you," he quipped, attempting
to make a joke.

"You know me... I'm
always happy," he shrugged, not entirely able to keep the bitter
irony out of his voice. Right at this moment, he was anything but
happy. Suddenly he was overcome with a desperate need to get out of
there, to be anywhere but on that platform, in front of that crowd,
smiling at the world like nothing was wrong. So he turned on his
heel and ran off.

"Fiyero!" Glinda
called after him, sounding startled and slightly hurt. But he didn't
turn around. He'd apologize to her later.

Right now he needed
somewhere that he could be alone for a while, where he could just sit
and think. (Again with him and thinking! Elphaba really had
changed him.) He made for the one place in the palace that he was
sure would be deserted, what with the party and all: the dungeon.
But to his surprise, as he descended the dank stone staircase, he
heard the sound of voices and the crack of a whip from one of the
interrogation rooms below. Odd. He hadn't thought there were any
interrogations scheduled for today. Fiyero didn't approve of the
guards' methods of getting information out of prisoners, but
luckily, as captain, he wasn't expected to participate in these
torture sessions, and delegated the job to other more willing
soldiers. When he could get away with it, he tried to use his
authority to keep them from going too far, but he couldn't say too
much, or the men under his command might get suspicious.

He poked his head in
the door of the room the voices were coming from to find two of his
men there with a prisoner he didn't recall ever seeing before, a
woman. The interrogation had not been going on long, from the looks
of things. The prisoner was against the wall, face right up against
the cold stones, arms held above her head by a pair of handcuffs
fixed high up. Naked from the waist up, her long black hair was
tucked over one shoulder, leaving her back bare. The exposed skin
already displayed multiple long lash marks that oozed blood.

"Dammit, you,
scream!" the soldier holding the whip was fuming. The
prisoner gave no reply, other than to make a derisive sound in the
back of her throat.

"What's going on
here? What is this?" asked Fiyero, now stepping fully into the
room.

Both of the men looked
over at him in surprise, and then grinned in welcome. "Ah,
captain! You're just in time!" the man without the whip greeted
him gleefully.

"In time for what,
Sandehr?"

"We've caught her!"

"Well, I can see
that. But who is she?"

"Why, the Wicked
Witch of the West!"

It was only then that
Fiyero's brain registered what his eyes had been telling him all
along: beneath the marks from the whip, the skin of the woman's
back was a vivid emerald green.

Elphaba…

As though in response
to him thinking her name, the woman turned her head to get a glimpse
of the new arrival. He found himself staring into a pair of very
familiar piercing dark eyes.

xXxXx

Oooh, cliffie! How
did Elphaba get captured? What will Fiyero do now? And what will
the Wizard and Morrible do when they find out she's been brought
into custody? All these questions and more will be answered in
chapter two!

Oh, yes! I am
bringing some Animals into the story in a few chapters. So in your
review, if you would like to, feel free to give me a name and what
type of Animal it is, and I'll try to use it! Thankees!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.